Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Jimmy Butler - Trim Your Tree
Because nothing says christmas quite like some thinly-veiled smut. From 1959 off the album Christmas In My Heart.

Oscar - It's Christmas Again
From one of 2015's breakout stars off Amazon's compilation Indie For The Holidays.

Carter USM - Christmas Shopper's Paradise
A not-particularly festive reworking of Shopper's Paradise for the christmas market from a few years back. Chuck some bells on, that'll do it.

Glam Chops - Countdown To Christmas
A bit of a supergroup with Art Brut's Eddie Argos at the front. This is from 2008 and is tremendous fun.

Helen Love and Friends - The Townhall Band
Raising money for the Trussell Trust, this features all sorts of other artists chipping in their two penn'orth. Jaunty enough innit.

I, Ludicrous - George Jenkins
The festive offering from the album Dull Is The New Interesting. Superb.

The Fall - (We Wish You) A Protein Christmas
From the EP of the same name dating from 2003. It's not christmas until you've heard Mark E Smith.

Cornershop - Every Year So Different feat. Trwbador
This is from 2012, and a total delight.

Clinic - Christmas
Avant-gardians from Liverpool. You can find it on the album Funf, a collection of B-sides from 2007.

Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - There Ain't No Santa Claus On The Evening Stage
From 1972's The Spotlight Kid. Not a well-received album with band tension at an all-time high. Needless to say. Beefheart blamed everyone but himself.

Goldie Lookin' Chain - John Lewis Christmas
Brilliant. Take that, John Lewis and everyone involved with that ad.

Joy Zipper - Christmas Song
Married couple from Long Island, this is from 2003.

The Smoking Trees - The Psychedelic Lights Of Christmas
Also on Tjinder Singh's Ample Play Records - he of Cornershop - comes this from the LA psych-merchants. This is off last year's EP Festive Christmas.

Laurence Made Me Cry - You Can't Have Christmas, It's Mine
Lamenting the lot of the birthday-at-christmas kids is Jo Whitby, aka Laurence Made Me Cry. This dates from 2012 with proceeds going to the NSPCC.

Council Tax Band - O Tannenbaum
Short and to the point. This is the festive offering from the Bedford noise-niks, available as a pay-what-you-like download.

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

It's all about the final track this week. Consider the first 12 tracks as a preamble.

Imaginary People - Summerstock
An unmistakeably New York sound. Off the LP Dead Letterbox, which is a great title, which came out in summer.

The Chills - America Says Hello
Another one from the first Chills album in 15 years, Silver Bullets.

Featured AlbumArt Brut - Formed A BandArt Brut - Modern Art
Our featured LP this week is Art Brut's debut long-player Bang Bang Rock & Roll. It came out in 2005 and introduced us to a totally unique band. Just brilliant.

Brando's Island - Auto Warfare
To Australia now, a band completely new to me. And blimey do they kick up a racket. An LP is due shortly. And they raise a fair point. Did we even have debate on shifting warfare to bunkers many thousands of miles away from battle?

Ghost Car - Be A Better Lady
Another track from their split LP with Summerisle, the Ghost Car bits which are now available as a self-titled EP.

The Migrant - Silence
Denmark now, and the new single from these psych-folk rockers. The album is Flood and it's out now.

Vertical Slump - Chanteuse
Comprising members of other bands, Shopping and Omi Palome for two, this is off the EP Ruined Value which came out last month.

Salary - Mini Moke
Back to Australia, Perth in fact, for this one. Out last week. Easy on the Autotune, eh?

Radar Men From The Moon - Deconstruction
Named for a 1952 B-movie, these are from Eindhoven. This is off the EP Subversive I which came out in October.

Featured AlbumArt Brut - Good Weekend
Another one from Bang Bang Rock & Roll. A gem.

Blank Realm - River Of Longing
Back Down Under again, this time to Brisbane for another track from the LP Illegals In Heaven, their fifth, which is out now.

David Bowie - Blackstar
And so here it is, the new single from Bowie. An epic ten-minuter from an LP of the same name which is due out in January, his 25th studio album. Spectacular. He's gone full Scott Walker, hasn't he?

Here's that on YouTube:

and Soundcloud:

Not in next week - football - so the next one will be the christmas special in a fortnight.

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Idles - CHANT
Bristolians post-piunkers pay homage to The Monks. From the new EP MEAT - everything's in capitals - which is out now.

Practical Lovers - Put It Bluntly
These are from Nottingham and while this was originally released as a single in 2011, it also forms part of the new album Agony which is out on Friday.

Last Great Dreamers - Dope School
Back together well after their '90s heyday, they were retro then and nothing's changed. This is the new single and there's an album due soon.

Featured AlbumArab Strap - Coming DownArab Strap - I Work In A Saloon
This week, we feature The Week Never Starts Round Here, the debut release from Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffatt. Dating from 1996, it still sounds good. "Completely undiluted and free of the self-expectation that came later", said Middleton of it. Coming Down is the opener.

Fat White Family - Whitest Boy On The Beach
The first track taken from the forthcoming second album, Songs For Our Mothers, which is out in January. They're playing Hebden Trades next month too. Should be fun.

Iron Triangle - Glass Shadows
Well someone likes Depeche Mode. Me, more precisely. But that might explain why I like this quite so much. Dan Walsh and Mark Dixon are Iron Triangle and they're from Peckham. Their self-titled EP is out now.

FVC - Jacket On Fire
The FVC in question is Florence van Camerlijk who is from Amsterdam but now based in Hackney. The EP Walking came out last Friday.

The Sneaky Nixons - Thick, Thin And Thinner
Great name. The self-styled rock n roll terrorists are from Liverpool and their new record Sex is out now.

Ratatosk - I Awoke
More Welsh DIY now as we head for Aberdare for some folky stuff. The album Detachment came out in late September.

Featured AlbumArab Strap - The First Big Weekend
The first single taken from The Week Never Starts Round Here.

Josefin Öhrn and The Liberation - Sunny Afternoon
A bit krautrocky, but also in the Lykke Li envelope. Swedish, is Ms Öhrn. The album is Horse Dance and it's out now.

Vieux Farka Touré - Masters Of War feat. Julie Easterlin
Malian songsmith Touré collaborates with American singer Easterlin on the LP touristes which came out in September.

Shunkan - The Pink Noise
We've had a track off the album before, but here's the title track from the New Zealanders LP.

Shift Work - SBFM
The EP Scaled To Fit from Shift Work blew our proverbial socks off. Document I, the new one, loks set to do the same given this track. It's out now.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

Meilyr Jones - How To Recognise A Work Of Art
A solo effort from the former Race Horses man from Aberystwyth. Bit of a stab at bursting the pomposity of the art critic. A debut LP is due early next year.

The Anchoress - You And Only You ft Paul Draper
More Welshness as Catherine Anne Davies collaborates with former Mansun singer Draper on her new single. The album Confessions Of A Romance Novelist is due in January.

Featured AlbumThe Chap - What Are People For?The Chap - Guitar Messiah
For this week's featured LP, we pick up The Show Must Go by multi-national five-piece The Chap. Comprising a Briton, a Greek, two Germans and a Frenchman, this is their sixth album and the second of which is leaning more into the political spectrum. Bloc Party-esque, they sample themselves and use sequencing to produce that sound.

Bruising - Honey
Leeds now. We've had these on before and here they are with their new single, half of a double-A side with Emo Friends which I feel sure may well make an appearance in due course.

Tuff Love - Duke
Another band we played a while ago who are back with a new release. From Glasgow, their new EP is called Dregs and came out a couple of weeks ago.

Forever Cult - Tunnel Vision
More Leedsness now. This is the new single which came out earlier this month. Raucous.

The Shifting Sands - Coming Back
Starting a run of Antipodean records, here's one from Dunedin in New Zealand. Cosmic Radio Station came out in October. Suitably laid back.

Gem Bones - Sweetness
Two tracks from Melbourne bands now, starting with this which came out in August. Almost sounds like the Jam at the start before going a different way altogether.

Static Animal - Majorca
This came out on a super-limited run of cassettes - just 10 were made. Virtual copies still available though.

Featured AlbumThe Chap - Hey Youth
Another one from our featured album. Probably my pick from it.

That Fucking Tank - Chumbawambanger
Back to Leeds once again. This duo have a line in inventive song titles and this is no exception. Out on a double-A with Pigeon Club on November 27.

Les Big Byrd - White Week
Swedish krautrock from a few years ago. Brilliant. This could easily be Can.

Fold - Oil-Powered Machine
Another one from Leeds? Go on then. The album, Fold, is a real belter. One of my favourites of the year. This features LAPD officer turned investigative journalist Mike Ruppert.

Fabio - Lindo Sonho Delirante
Old school funk to finish. From 1968 and Brazil. The initials LSD probably aren't a coincidence.

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Liines - Never There
I've been gigging. These were supporting Ex Hex at Manchester's Ruby Lounge on Sunday and were ace. More of the main act later, but this the debut single from Liines, out November 21.

Greys - The Voyeur
To Toronto now and this lot had an LP out last year. This is their first stuff since, off an EP called Repulsion.

Ela Orleans - The Sky And The Ghost
From Poland but based in Glasgow - coming over here, enriching our culture - the album Upper Hell came out in May. I've only just heard stuff off it, this being the pick. Blissful.

Featured AlbumEx Hex - Radio OnEx Hex - War Paint
Like I say, I've been gigging. I snapped up a ticket to see these when I heard they were over here as it was a surprise to me that they were even in the UK. They're from Washington DC and the debut album Rips came out last year. I've already played tracks from it, but I'm going to feature it properly here as they were ace on Sunday.

Editors - Life Is A Fear
Not a band I thought I'd find myself playing, but this, their new single, is a bit good. In Dreams is the new LP, out last month.

Samuel Claiborne - Say Goodbye To America
This is ace. Claiborne is from upstate New York and this is off the album Love, Lust And Genocide. I think you get a clear picture of his politics.

Lonely Robot - The Boy In The Radio
Guitarist John Mitchell has had many guises, this being his latest one. This is the latest single taken from Please Come Home which came out in February. I'm still not 100% sure that I like it. I think I do.

LeRoy - Skai
To Munich now for this, which is pretty special. Off the album Skläsh which came out last month. Terrific.

TVAM - Porsche Majeure
Making a late bid for record of the year is this from Wigan's Joe Oxley. On a double-A side single. Out now. Get it.

Featured AlbumEx Hex - Waste Your Time
Another track from Rips which if you don't have, you should. Good old-fashioned rock n roll.

Ash Walker - Bamboo Circus feat. Segilola
Dub, next. The EP is called Agnostic, it came out in July and is good.

Fold - Detroit Red
Funk time for the rest of the night, starting with this from the new album, Fold. Describing themselves as experimental funk and hip-hop from Leeds, this features the voice of Malcolm X - Detroit Red being his nickname when he was grifting on the streets of Motown as a youth - with some apposite comments about the state of race relations in the US.

Savant - Stationary Dance
Off a compilation called Artifical Dance, this is Kerry Leimer from Seattle.

Lesbian Horse - I Have Some Very Strong Views About Whatever Happened To Rock 'n' Roll
Show favourite Sam Jones once again. Some weeks he'll put a dozen tracks out, some weeks he won't. This arrived last week and is among his best.

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Field Music - The Noisy Days Are Over
The Sunderland veterans - I think we can say that - off their new LP Commontime due out in February.

The Ethical Debating Society - Sum Of My Parts
Off their debut album New Sense which came out in June. One from the extensive backlog I've got built up.

Tools You Can Trust - Working And Shopping
An oldie, but relevant. Originally released in 1985, it's recently been remastered and is out now on Burkas For Everyone records.

Featured AlbumLow - GentleLow - What Part Of Me
Their 11th studio album, Ones And Sixes, came out in September and it's typically beautiful. Some of it is quite gentle, some less so. But more of that later.

The Spook School - Speak When You're Spoken To
From Edinburgh - and you can pick out the accent - this is off the LP Try To Be Helpful which came out in October.

Primitive Parts - Rented Houses
Those busy chaps from Sauna Youth/Monotony now combine with parts of Male Bonding to create another band. This is off Miracle Skin which is out now.

Lovely Eggs - Goofin' Around (In Lancashire)
The new single from our favourite Lancaster-based husband/wife duo. Out on November 13 on fried egg vinyl which looks tremendous.

Gwenno - Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki
The stunning Gwenno Saunders' Welsh language album Y Dydd Olaf came out in October 2014, but got a do-over in July which propelled it to the level it deserved. I am not going anywhere near the pronunciations.

Rodents - Calm Down
This is ace. I know little of them, but the fact they're on Art Is Hard is a marker of quality.

Blanck Mass - Double Cross
Benjamin John Power - half of Fuck Buttons - released Dumb Flesh under the name Blanck Mass in spring. We have had tracks from it before, but no reason to not play another one.

Luca Ballerini - Hanami (Armonia Rosa)
To Italy now, for some techno. Superb. Came out in August, that.

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Suede - Outsiders
New stuff from these. I wouldn't normally play this sort of stuff - you can find it anywhere - but it's really good. Night Thoughts is the new album, due in January.

Flawes - Don't Wait For Me
A local band which we always like to feature. Unspken is the debut album.

Sarah Williams White - Hum
New single from Ms White, out on November 6. Utterly glorious.

Featured albumPete & The Pirates - Can't FishPete & The Pirates - United
One Thousand Pictures, the 2011 second and final album from Pete & The Pirates is our featured album this week. The band split up shortly after it's release, three-quarters of them going on to form Teleman. It's one I keep going back to time and again. Packed full of great tunes.

Pumarosa - Priestess
This is their debut single and what a debut. Seven and a half minutes of swooping, swirling brilliance. Out on October 30, that is just magnificent.

The Chills - Molten Gold
To New Zealand now, Dunedin in fact. Silver Bullets is their first album in 19 years. Not so long next time, eh lads?

Cat Bear Tree - Adult
Taken from the EP Settled In Our Hearts, out last Friday, and is rather good.

Royal Headache - Another World
Back down under now, to Sydney. The LP High came out in late August.

Plume Of Feathers - First Date
Good name for a pub, their self-titled debut LP comes out on Friday.

Golden Fable - The Crossing
To north Wales now. There's plenty good stuff coming out of the south, but north Wales showing it's not exclusively the preserve of the south. The album, also called The Crossing, came out on the 5th.

Featured albumPete & The Pirates - Come To The Bar
From One Thousand Pictures, our featured album of the week. Best track on it, this.

Tired Arms - Polar Shift
Some electronica now. This came out on September 25. A curio.

St Anthony - An Ode To Anthony H Wilson (Andrew Weatherall mix)
Not sure how this passed me by. A charity single released on August 14, raising money for the Christie Charitable Trust, Christies being where Tony Wilson died. The words are by Mike Garry, tunes by Joe Duddell and then all mixed by the maestro Andrew Weatherall. Wonderful.

Lesbian Horse - Were The Sounds You Heard Really There
And we finish with more sampling and audio hallucinations from Sam Jones. Never stop.

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Hello again. I've got the most annoying tickly cough, so less of the chatter tonight.

Asian Dub Foundation - Stand Up
Another track from the brilliant album More Signal More Noise which came out in July.

Orphan Boy - Money To Money
Don't think I've played any bands from Grimsby/Cleethorpes way before, so consider that rectified. Coastal Tones is the album and it's out now.

Du Blonde - Raw Honey
Another one from Welcome Back To Milk which is, as you should know by now, ace. What a voice.

Featured AlbumThe Durutti Column - BeginningThe Durutti Column - Katharine
Our featured album this week is The Return Of The Durutti Column, the bands 1980 debut. Physically, it's most arresting feature was the sandpaper sleeve, a Situationist prank nicked from Jacques Derrida whose Memoirs was similarly fashioned. The thing then is that every time you take the book off or put it back on the shelf, it destroys the books next to it. That's Factory for you. Anyway, it's a masterpiece and worth revisiting.

Heavyball - Unhappy Now
A long-awaited LP, Black Eye Diaries, is now available to order and I cannot wait to hear it in it's entirety.

Ex Hex - All Kindsa Girls
A first track since debut LP Rips came out, a cover of a The Real Kids track.

Warm Brains - Pink Blackpool Rock
Another long-awaited album, this time coming next month. Big Wow is the title and this is the lead single from it.

Owiny Sigoma Band - (Nairobi) Too Hot
This is ace. I love what these guys do, mixing London and Nairobi sounds. This is off the new album Nyanza which came out at the back end of August.

Stolen Haven - Used
Off the EP Three Stripe Blues which is out now-ish. It's got just enough about it to stand out from the crowd.

Sea Creature - Songbird
Something a bit older now, from 2013. These are from Bury St Edmunds and the album is called Electric Dreams. Don't know how it passed me by, but glad I've caught up with it now.

Featured AlbumThe Durutti Column - Requiem For A Father

Air Formation - The Wasted Days
Off the EP Were We Ever There, which came out last month.

Shunkan - Paleontologist
To New Zealand now for this which appears on The Pink Noise which comes out on November 20.

LV - Balance Spring
Brilliant slice of electronica from the new LP Ancient Mechanisms which came out last Friday.

Tom Furse - Run To Me pt 3
Also out last Friday, an EP from Horrors keyboardist Furse titled Run To Me Suite. Four tracks, here's part three. Brilliant.

Here's that on YouTube:

and Soundcloud:

No show next week - Town are playing a made-up football club from Buckinghamshire - so back in a fortnight.

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Mammoth Penguins - Strength In My Legs
From Cambridge and off the album Hide And Seek which came out in July. Splendid pop.

The Orielles - Joey Says We Got It
A Halifax band with a strong West Coast US vibe. This is their first single that will be released in America and I hope it does very well for them. This is released for Cassette Store Day on October 17.

The Crookes - I Wanna Waste My Time On You
Sheffield next, and another track from house favourites The Crookes. Lucky Ones is their fourth studio LP due out in January and this is the first track taken from it. We look forward to the rest with bated breath.

Featured AlbumSexwitch - Ha Howa Ha Howa
This week's featured album is the self-titled debut from a collaboration between Natasha Khan, Bat For Lashes to you, Toy and producer Dan Carey. It's a selection of covers of 1970s funk and psych tracks from Iran, Morocco, Thailand and the USA. Something else.

Oscar - Breaking My Phone
Oscar Scheller's follow-up to the well-received EP Beautiful Words. I think this will go down just as well.

Rocket From The Tombs - Coopy (Schroedinger's Refrigerator)
New stuff from Ohio punk veterans. The new album is Black Record and due out on November 13 and is brilliant.

Demob Happy - Wash It Down
Brighton next and a bit of lo-fi shoegazey type stuff. This was released in August and features on their debut LP which is coming soon.

Alex Chilltown - Cwtch
Another one of those bands that sound like one person. This is coming out on Art Is Hard in the middle of the month.

Iko Cherie - Good To You Again
Bordeaux's Marie Merlet is Iko Cherie and this is off the LP Dreaming On which is out on the 16th. Dreamy.

Nicolas Godin - Orca
Half of Air and with a new solo album. Contrepoint came out last month and this has more than an air of Wendy Carlos about it.

Featured AlbumSexwitch - Helelyos
Another track from the Sexwitch album, also the first single.

B Dolan - Grafitti Busters (Dan Le Sac remix)
The original to this came out on Kill The Wolf but worked over by Dan Le Sac. Marvellous.

Ashley Reaks and Joe Hakim - Nature Poem
Here's something superb from Metal Postcard records. Cultural Thrift is the album and it's really, really good. This'll give you more than a flavour of it.

fold - A Victim's Mentality
Experimental hip-hop/funk from Leeds. Their self-titled debut album is out on November 2 and they'll be touring it in due course.

Hugh - Learn To Fall
This is Josh Idehen and Izzy Brookes from their double-A single, Almost Done, Almost being the flip side.

Three Thieves - Image
And finally to Cardiff. A track from the self-titled album. So much good stuff coming out of South Wales right now.

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

I was ill last week, so you can have what I prepared for then this week.

Bunnygrunt - Frankie Is A Killer
An old-ish track, but off a new compilation from the St Louis veterans. Bunnygrunt Vol 4 is out now.

The St Pierre Snake Invasion - Rock 'N' Roll Workshops
New stuff from Bristol. Some proper old school rock from the LP A Hundred Years A Day which is out on October 31.

Penetration - Just Drifting
A new track from the punk veterans, their first since 1979. They got back together a while ago touring the old stuff, but now there's something new.

Featured AlbumThee Headcoats - Troubled TimesThee Headcoats - Girl From '62
This week's featured album is Elementary Headcoats a re-release of which is due imminently. It's a collection of tracks released between 1990 and 1999, originally released in 2001, and is very much in the Billy Childish - for it is him - idiom. Garage rock as it used to be.

Drew Worthley - Bone China Saviour
Off the second album, Crucible, which is out on Friday. A bit Dutch Unclesy, which is never a bad thing.

I, Ludicrous - We're Signed
Another one from Dull Is The New Interesting which by now I trust you're in agreement that it's quite splendid.

Ghost Car - Woman In The Shadows
I was looking for a different Ghost Car track, but this caught my ear first. It came out in January on a split LP between these and Valencian outfit Summerisle.

Fiesta Island - I'm Awake ft Jonny 'Huddersfield' Helm
Dreamy stuff from the Californians which matches Wave Pictures drummer Jonny Helm's vocals nicely. This came out at the back of August.

Splashh - Pure Blue
A first cut from the forthcoming LP Honey And Salt, the follow-up to their acclaimed debut Comfort. High hopes for the rest of the album on the back of this.

Horsebeach - I'm Alright
Another one from the Mancunians whose album II comes out this week. Almost Fleetwood Mac-ian at the start.

India Mill - Come On In My Gun
Another track from the LP Under Every Sky which we like a lot here. It came out almost a year ago, but so what. This is a belter.

Peter Hook and The Light - Atmosphere ft Rowetta
I heard the new New Order track the other day and was non-plussed to say the least. On the back of that and never having heard Peter Hook's outfit, I gave them a go. I prefer this, I reckon. Rowetta's vocals take it to somewhere else, but the overall sense is that these blokes are too old for all this crap. Just grow up and make proper New Order records. This is off the EP 1102/2011 which is four years old now.

Moth Effect - Last Orders At The Chateau Plaisir
A rough cut of a first track following the LP Crocodilians, which we very much enjoyed. More Boards Of Canada-esque floatiness. Bliss.

Dementio13 - We All Fall Down
Another one from August's The Dark Science LP which is great. We read, worryingly, that the man behind this stuff is thinking of jacking in music for a bit and focusing on visual art. Fair enough, we all need a break from time to time, but I hope it's not permanent.

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Just when you're struggling to fill a show, your new feature section tees you up for a 10-minute Fall track. Easy.

Hooton Tennis Club - Kathleen Sat On The Arm Of Her Favourite Chair
From the Wirral and sounding a bit Pavement and a bit Teenage Fanclub. And that's a very good thing. This is the latest single from the acclaimed album Highest Point In Cliff Town.

Dog, Paper, Submarine - Ms Moonlet
Now sounding more Dinosaur Jr, some Swedes. This is off a 7-track EP/mini-album called Signal From Kepler-22B

Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - Berlin
Another collaboration between house favourites The Wave Pictures and French chanteur Stanley Brinks. Their new LP is called My Ass and is out in a couple of weeks.

Featured AlbumThe Fall - Auto Chip 2014-2016
Here's your ten minutes of The Fall. Uniquely British, more uniquely Manchester. If it's possible to be more unique... Anyway, this is off their last LP, Sub-Lingual Tablet, which came out in May. Their 31st.

Lush Rimbaud - G Spot
To Italy now, Ancona more precisely, for something genial and pleasant. This is off L/R which is out on October 1.

The Iain Duncan Smiths - What Difference Does It Make (If All Our Testimonies Are Fake)
Off the album The Devil's Songs: The Very Worst Of The Iain Duncan Smiths, a four-piece take Smiths songs and turn them into satire on the DWP. I spoke to them for a piece on IBWM which should tell you all you need to know.

Los and The Deadlines - Feel At Ease
A multi-national four-piece based in London off their LP Perfect Holiday. Not easily categorisable, just jolly good.

Bicep - Just
Belfast now for some electronica. Off an EP of the same name which came out in May.

The Reverse Cowgirls - Cry Cry
And now some filthy garage rock from Glasgow. Outskirts came out in July.

Featured AlbumsThe Fall - Dedication Not Medication
And if you thought the previous record sounded like The Fall, here's The Fall. Probably my favourite track off Sub-Lingual Tablet, and it's up against some strong competition. It's one of their best.

Tellison - Tact Is Dead
Back to London now for this which I like a lot. Hope Fading Lightly comes out on Friday.

Kagoule - Made Of Concrete
Highly-rated Nottingham band whose album Urth came out in July. You'll be hearing these a lot. Not just here - everywhere.

Kryten - Upping Doses
Yes I was intrigued by the name and yes it is. They're from Aberfeldy, out Perth way in Scotland, a 2-piece and the album is Soda Jerk and it's out now.

Astro - Druida
And finally, some electronica from Chile. Chicos De La Luz - Boys of the light - came out in July.

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

Leftfield - Head And Shoulders ft Jason Williamson
And now I defy you to get the phrase 'chicken in a basket' out of your head. The latest single off the album Alternative Light Source.

Luca Afrobeat - Barse
The first of two tracks from Canterbury bands. First, this magnificent horn-laced funk from an 8-piece band from the EP Heard. And Barse is a great name for a single.

Origami Horses - Slates
And then this, off the LP Artful/Artless? which came out in June. A bit New Ordery, a bit Charlatansy and with a Foalsy vocal. Two out of three ain't bad.

Featured AlbumNeu! - Isi
This week, we feature Neu! 75, the third album from Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother's band post-Kraftwerk. It was something of an end point for the band. Tonight, I'll play the opening and closing tracks from it. This is the opener and picks up where Neu! 2 left off. By the time we get to the final track, it's clear that the two of them are going in different directions. Later in 1975, Bowie was in Hamburg and asked to record with Neu! Rother said no. What might have been...

John Grant - Disappointing ft Tracey Thorn
Magnificent. Lovely juxtaposition of Grant's booming baritone and Thorn's delicate vocals. Grant's new LP is Grey Tickles, Black Pressure and is out on October 2.

Kassassin Street - Radio Silence
Record of the week. I adore this. The synths really lift it. These are from Portsmouth and their debut EP is out next month.

The Crookes - Before The Night Falls
Show favourites from Sheffield. This is the latest single from the album Soapbox which came out last year. It's still splendid.

Pocket Gods - In Search Of The Divine
The title track from last month's album. From St Albans, something of a lost mark on Britain's musical map.

Lusts - Waves
Brothers Andy and James Stone of Leicester are Lusts. This is superb and if the rest of the album Illuminations, out on October 23, is anything like, we're in for a treat.

Dead Hope - Swordz
To Glasgow now for something pretty raw, but no less appealing for that.

Jim Johnston - Officer Paranoid
This is off an album that came out in March which has somehow passed me by until now. After All The Wishing... is Johnston's second album. More of that please.

Featured AlbumNeu! - After Eight
Like I say. Very different at the end to the start. And it progresses like that through the album.

The Ska Vengers - Frank Brazil
Indian ska now. These are from New Delhi and this is a tribute of sorts to Udham Singh, Indian revolutionary, executed 75 years ago for assassinating Frank O'Dwyer, orchestrator of the Amritsar massacre. Frank Brazil was one of Singh's aliases. History lesson this show as well... There's an album due in October.

Carter Tutti Void - f(2.6.2)
New from these, of the new album f(x) which is out on Friday. File under E for experimental.

Four Tet - Back 2 The Start
New track from Kieran Hebden. Bit more clubby than we're used to, perhaps, but none the worse for that.

V.I.P.N - I Am V.I.P.N
And to finish, something from a 17-year old kid from Germany called Viktor. I don't know anything more than that, just that I wasn't doing anything like this at 17.

Here's that on YouTube:

and Soundcloud, which for some reason doesn't seem to want to embed this week. Get it here anyway.

Tuesday, 1 September 2015

I return, slightly less stressed than a month ago. Anyway, I've changed it round a little bit, but the focus still remains new music. Let's see if I can remember which buttons do what on the console. Anyhoo...

John MOuse - Your Funny Little Ways
From Cardiff, John Davies is John MOuse and this is the new single taken from the album The Death Of John MOuse which is tremendous and you should buy it. This is out on the 18th.

Diet Cig - Dinner Date
Also out on the 18th, these are from upstate New York. It's on a double-A side - kids, ask your parents - with Sleep Talk.

Fruit Bomb - Goin' Home
From Manchester and featuring parts of house favourites Nai Harvest, this came out a few weeks ago. I'll be catching up on things from the last month or so for a while yet, methinks.

Featured AlbumThe Broken Heed - Funny Little Things
New feature section now. The Broken Heed is personal friend John Hartley who, like me, has suffered depression lately. He found CALM - the Campaign Against Living Miserably - a help. One phone call to their impartial hotline costs £7, so John decided to record the album, also called The Broken Heed, to raise money for the charity. It's a very personal album, but also very good. Crowdfunding raised the cash for a physical release. Get it off bandcamp.

Lou Barlow - Moving
A new album, the first in six years, from Mr Barlow. Brace The Wave is out on Friday.

Menace Beach - Ghoul Power
Another track from the new EP Super Transporterreum which is out on the 25th and is excellent.

Houdini Dax - Found Love In The Dole Office
Another one from Cardiff - there is some great stuff coming out of South Wales at the moment. A very pleasing ditty off the album Naughty Nation which is out now.

Poledo - Loser
Oxford now, and this is really pleasing. Off an EP called Egg Ccun Catpil Butfli. Me neither.

Nightingales - The Only Son
Another one from the Birmingham veterans latest LP Mind Over Matter. It really is a superb album. The oldies showing everyone how it's done.

April Towers - A Little Bit Of Fear
To Nottingham now. This came out last Friday.

Bruja - Horsey & You
Bruja means witch in Spanish, as anyone familiar with Juan Sebastian Veron will already know. Anyway, these are from Barnsley and this is off a self-titled album which is out now.

Featured AlbumThe Broken Heed - How To Be A Man
Another from our featured album of the week. There are so many things trying to tell you what being a man is. It's all meaningless.

Traams - Succulent Thunder Anthem
I doubt we've had a Chichester band on before. Difficult to know what you'd be influenced by down there. Either way, I like this. Off Modern Dancing which is out in November.

Sextile - Can't Take It
An LA band and off the album A Thousand Hands which came out last week.

Lesbian Horse - They Are A Part Of The Wave Of The Future
Another one from this project which I've played before. Since then, I've been in touch with the brains of the operation which is Sam Jones, a France-based Welshman. No albums. No physical releases. Just watch the stars (well, social media) and keep your ears open.

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Du Blonde - Hunter
Another one from the acclaimed album Welcome Back To Milk by the artist formerly known as Beth Jeans Houghton.

Richard Hawley - Which Way
New from the Sheffield troubadour off the forthcoming LP Hollow Meadows which is out in September. Classic Hawley.

I, Ludicrous - Hacky's Wine Bar
Another one from Dull Is The New Interesting, their first release in ages.

Cover Version CornerKraftwerk/Gulp vs Miaoux Miaoux - Tour de France
Topical innit. Gulp is the side project of Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce and has teamed up with Glaswegian producer Miaoux Miaoux for this update of the 1983 Kraftwerk classic. One of the better covers I think we've ever featured.

Menace Beach - Super Transporterreum
Not resting on their laurels following the debut LP Ratworld, this is the title track from a new EP. And is splendid.

Girls Names - A Hunger Artist
How good is that? They're from Belfast and the album is Arms Around A Vision.

Ultimate Painting - (I've Got The) Sanctioned Blues
Seeing the humour in getting a parking ticket, this is off Green Lanes which is out now.

Trust Fund - Dreams
And they just keep on coming. From Bristol, these, and this is their new single.

Swells - Banal
Another band from Bandung in Indonesia which is some sort of hotbed of musical genius. I'm sure banal doesn't mean that in the local language and this sure ain't. Clearly influenced by 1990s Manchester and that can't be a bad thing.

Tom Robinson - Don't Jump, Don't Fall
The first new stuff from Robinson in 20 years, this is off the album Only The Now. The single is raising money for CALM - the Campaign Against Living Miserably - which raises awareness of male suicide, the biggest killer of men aged 20-45 in this country. You know, because we're big idiots who don't talk about stuff. Powerful stuff.

One Degree of SeparationOMD - ElectricityThe Avalanches - Electricity
Just the titles that link them. Can you believe that's OMD's debut from 1979? Still sounds fresh. The Avalanches simply because it's an age since I played anything by them. That's off 2000's Since I Left You.

Malcolm Middleton and David Shrigley - Caveman
Unusual. This is a collaboration between former Arab Strap man Middleton and visual artist Shrigley on an album called, appropriately, Words And Music which came out last December. Words by the latter, music by the former.

Bullion - Saysah!
Hugely retro stuff from the EP Rooster which is out now.

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Flux Pavilion - Blow The Roof
Start with a bang. Off the album of the same name that came out in 2013, Flux Pavilion is Joshua Steele from Towcester.

Evans The Death - Terrified
Odd name for a band, but hey ho. And a band rather than a single person. And a cracking tune. Off Expect Delays that came out in March.

The HolyDrug Couple - French Movie Theme
I don't think we've had anything from Chile before. Might have - not sure. Anyway, that's where these are from. Moonlust is the album and serves to remind me that I still fancy doing an all-instrumental show one day.

Cover Version CornerJimi Hendrix/The Cure - Purple Haze
Not the greatest cover, I grant you. That's off a compilation called Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix which features a number of artists covering his tunes. Before that, unmistakeably Hendrix. Nothing else has ever sounded quite like that. Off 1967's Are You Experienced.

Sleaford Mods - No-one's Bothered
Another one from the new LP Key Markets. Go get it.

Shopping - Why Wait?
More social commentary from the album Why Choose? which comes out in October. Good tune too.

Autobahn - Society
And yet more social commentary. From Leeds this time. And probably record of the week. Dissemble is the new album and it's out at the back end of August.

Bully - Trying
To Nashville now. Not the greatest name for a band, but what a great voice. Their debut album is called Feels Like and came out late last month.

Dymaxion Groove - The Greatest Power
Baltimore now and Jad Fair and Jason Willett from seminal post-punk outfit Half Japanese have their own side project and this is it. The album is of the same name and is out in September.

Kingsley Chapman and The Murder - Lovers
This is great. Teessider Chapman, ex of the Chapman Family, with a splendid bit of song writing. A hint of the Nick Caves about it, in the very nicest sense of the term.

One Degree of SeparationPaul Smith and The Intimations - Break Me DownNano Kino - Eyes Before Words
And staying in the north-east, two records from Maximo Park members. Front-man Smith has a new LP, Contradictions, out in August. Nano Kino's self-titled album came out in March. And why not - spread your wings, try something different and then come back together for the day job.

Lanks - Hole Me Closer
Melbourne's Will Cuming is Lanks and the EP Thousand Piece Puzzle came out last month.

Victories At Sea - Up
This really is ace. They're from Birmingham and this comes from an EP called In Memory Of. A bit retro, a bit New Order at times, and yet entirely contemporary.

LV - Jump And Reach
And we finish with a collaboration between London producer LV and Armenian pianist Tigran Hammasyan. Unusual combination, outstanding results.

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Hotgothic - Smackuout
Energetic and punchy, as befits something off an EP called Punchline.

Brawlers - Annabel
And continuing the short and punchy theme, a new single from this Leeds band off the album Romantic Errors Of Our Youth.

Nai Harvest - Ocean Of Madness
And again. Sheffield this time and the LP is Hairball.

Cover Version CornerJacques Brel - Au SuivantThe Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Next
I remember seeing the Alex Harvey Band perform that on The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was bonkers. That's off the 1973 album Next and is an English translation of Au Suivant, Jacques Brel's anti-military record from 1966 and the album Les Bonbons.

Sleaford Mods - Tarantula Deadly Cargo
Finally, a track I can play in the 7pm slot. The hype is justified, they are the most important band in the country right now and the new LP Key Markets is out on Friday.

Christian Fitness - The Harder It Hits
Side-project of Future Of The Left front man Andy Falkous. Following on from the album I'm Scared Of Everything That I'm Not, a new single. Record of the week, I reckon. Love it.

Sauna Youth - The Bridge
And another track from the frankly brilliant Sauna Youth from their album Distractions.

Ought - The Weather Song
This dates back from last year. They're from Montreal and it sounds like Jonathan Richman in ways to me. And that's never a bad thing. More Than Any Other Day is the LP.

Fufanu - Circus Life
Iceland now and something from their EP Adjust To The Light. Something a bit different.

Asian Dub Foundation - The Signal And The Noise
I love this lot. A new album, More Signal, More Noise, is out on Friday. Still great.

One Degree of SeparationHappy Mondays - Kinky AfroSWR - Close The Dam
The link should be obvious from the moment you realise that SWR stands for Shaun William Ryder. That's his first solo release for about a decade and it's bloody good. You don't need reminding that Kinky Afro was on Pills N Thrills And Bellyaches, still one of the most significant records of the last 25 years.

Shitwife - High Octane Party Banger
Splendid stuff and there's an album coming. Called Big Lad, it's out on August 28.

Lesbian Horse - 30 Seconds (Could Save The Universe)
These are a mystery. They're from London, but that's all I've got. They're also prolific and also also splendid in the turntablist style. Just fantastic.

AFX - Serge Fenix Rendered 2
After hiding away for so long, Richard D James - Aphex Twin to you - is suddenly prolific and has a new record out in the guise of AFX. Orphaned Deejay Selek 2006-2008 is the title. Of course it is.

Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Hello again. I think this is one of the best shows I've had the pleasure of putting together. Dive in and enjoy.

Mourning Birds - The Last Thing (I Need)
Kent's leading rockers with their new single - a bit of an epic by their standards - from their debut, eponymous album which came out yesterday.

Nightingales - Gales Doc
New stuff from old bands is a bit of a thing at the moment. From the album Mind Over Matter comes this knowing, self-referential mockumentary which also takes a poke at modern documentary structure, which frankly deserves it. The album is great. Go listen when you're done here.

Girls Names - Reticence
This is ace. From Belfast, the album Arms Around A Vision is due in October.

Cover Version CornerThe Vogues/Julian Cope - Five O'Clock World
My Nation Underground is atypical Cope. It's over-produced and Copey himself was so clearly unhappy with it that he went off and put out two lo-fi, stripped back albums - Droolian and Skellington - while it was still in production. But he still managed to make an updated version of The Vogues' classic.

Musa Okwonga - Ring The Bells
A new single from the London poet now based in Berlin. The beats mate nicely with his voice - complementary and neither overpowering nor underwhelming. A top effort.

Seazoo - Martyn And Jayne
Good things are coming out of Wales right now. These are from Wrexham and the EP Car Deborah - no, me neither - is out now.

Heartless Bastards - Gates Of Dawn
A total misnomer of a band name given how pleasant that is. They're from Austin in Texas and the album Restless Ones is out next month.

Frontwards - Speechless
To Leeds now and Sad Sack Records have put out a compilation, as they do from time to time, showcasing their bands. I Was A Teenage Sad Sack is the title and this is on it.

Numbers Are Futile - Monster
Based in Edinburgh, but originating from all over the place, there's a very Middle Eastern influence to that. Really rather delightful. Sunlight On Black Horizon is the album and it came out last month.

Repo Man - Static Excess Strobe Effect
Obviously influenced by the same Alex Cox films that I was as a kid. These are from Bristol and the album Minesweeping is out now.

One Degree of SeparationBEAK> - The Meader<KAEB - When We Fall
Also from Bristol, BEAK> have made a split EP with their own alter egos <KAEB. See what they did there? It's something we've seen elsewhere - Sauna Youth swap instruments and become Monotony, for example - and allegedly allows them to explore sounds outwith their usual oeuvre. Fair enough. Works for me.

Drewford Alabama - Time Is On Your Side (ft Bnann)
Jamie Morrison is Drewford Alabama and this is out in three weeks time.

Doomsquad - Apocalypso
That's a great name for a single. Doomsquad are sibling trio Trevor, Jaclyn and Allie Bulmas from Toronto. This appears on Pageantry Suite which is out now.

Joi - Asian Vibes
A new retrospective of Joi's work is out now, the early stuff with both Haroon and Farook Shamsher and, after Haroon's sad death in 1999, Farook's solo work. Joi Sound System is what you're looking for here.

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Slug - Running To Get Past Your Heart
Another track from the album Ripe which I cannot recommend strongly enough.

Blossoms - Cut Me And I'll Bleed
A Manchester band we've played before. This is their second single which came out in March, but I've only just got round to after it appeared on a compilation album from the Hope Not Hate organisation which is well worth it.

Kagoule - Glue
From Nottingham and with an album called Urth due out in August. Very much looking forward to it too.

Cover Version CornerMoody Blues - Nights In White SatinGirogio Moroder - Knights In White Satin
Bloody love that Moody Blues track. Always have. From the 1967 album Days Of Future Passed. Then nine years later and with an added K and off the album of the same name. I play that as Giorgio Moroder has a new album out soon.

Dave McCabe and The Ramifications - Too Damn Good
Ex-Zutons front man Dave McCabe's new project which is pretty damn good. Church Of Miami is the album and it's out in September.

La Casa Al Mare - Sunflowers
To Rome now for some shoegaze. This came out last November and I know pretty much nothing apart from that. And that I like it.

Real Lies - Dab Housing
I wasn't sure about this one, but it's alright really. Their new single.

The Smoking Trees - Trips
From LA and off the album TST that comes out next month. That's a bit laid back as well. Almost like I planned this.

Wetdog - Chocky
An all-female three-piece from London whose album Divine Times came out last month. Perky, spiky. Like it.

Cheerleader - The Sunshine Of Your Youth
Dream-pop from Philadelphia now. Off an album of the same name, also out last month.

One Degree of SeparationLonely Boy - EverythingLonelady - Into The Cave
Maybe we should get these two together if they're that lonely. Lonelady is Julie Campbell from Manchester and that's off her critically acclaimed LP Hinterland which is out now. Before that, a track from an LA producer that I know next to nothing about.

The Octopus Project - Pyramid Kosmos
Three tracks left today and we're going all electronic, starting with this. They're from Austin, Texas and this is off their 2013 album Fever Forms.

bblos - Empty Promises
Ecuador now, which is a first. All hail the technology which allows people from all over to share stuff and be influenced by stuff.

Lockah - Some Velvet Evening
And finally, Tom Banks is Lockah and that's off his album Donky Pitch which came out last May, as in 2014 that is.

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

The Lovely Eggs - Ordinary People Unite
An uplifting call to arms start from their latest album, This Is Our Nowhere.

Slaves - Live Like An Animal
Getting plenty of good reviews, the new LP is Are You Satisfied?

Waylayers - Pharoah
One of them that I'm not sure I like. I think it's growing on me. The EP is called Re:Verse. Worth checking out.

Cover Version CornerThe Who/Lord Sitar - I Can See For Miles
Noted session musician Big Jim Sullivan recorded the Lord Sitar album in 1968. Easy listening versions of popular hits of the day. Makes for something a bit different anyway. Of course The Who before that, from 1967's The Who Sell Out.

Dirty Fences - Deep In Your Heart
The album came out in the middle of last month, but I'm just getting round to it. Full Tramp is the title.

The Spills - Crash-Landed Clouds
From Leeds, this is their new single. Comes out on June 29 and we look forward to more.

Sauna Youth - Transmitters
This should be big. In a different formation, these are also Monotony and they've managed to do a split single with themselves in their two guises. The Sauna Youth LP, Distractions, came out yesterday and is a belter. Seriously, get on it.

Totem Terrors - Big E
To Cardiff now and something from the LP Hard Science which is out on June 29. Again, a bit different. In a good way.

East India Youth - Beaming White
This is getting plenty of airtime but that's no reason not to play it here. Mainly because I reckon he's ace. William Doyle is East India Youth, the album is Culture Of Volume and this is the latest single taken from it.

Empress Of - Water Water
And in a similar-ish vein, Empress Of is New Yorker Lorely Rodriguez. Her debut album is due later in the year, but this is a taste of what's to come, her first release for three years.

One Degree of SeparationThe Verve - Bittersweet SymphonyThe Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds
Court cases is your link here. The Verve did get permission from Jagger and Richard for the stringy bit, but then went a bit further than that agreement and borrowed from the melody as well and got sued. The Orb famously never cleared their samples until someone complained. The issue here though was the interview that plays throughout featuring the voice of Rickie Lee Jones. She was against suing as she thought it was brilliant. There was an out-of-court settlement.

Prinzhorn Dance School - Reign
Tobin Prinz and Suzi Horn are from Portsmouth and Home Economics is either out now or very shortly will be. Like a mature version of the xx.

Hanz - Throwing
Brandon Juhans from North Carolina records as Hanz. His debut album is called Reducer which this comes from. It's an intriguing piece.

Squarepusher - Baltang Ort
Speaking of intriguing... Another track from the Damogen Furies album which came out in April. Because why not.

Martyr Privates - Sores
This is one I've been after for ages. They're from Brisbane and their self-titled LP came out last September and I've finally got my hands on it. Worth the wait.

Cover Version CornerConsuelo Velazquez - Besame MuchoMorrissey - Kiss Me A Lot
Not strictly speaking a cover, but it's my rules and I don't care. Besame Mucho means Kiss Me A Lot and you can pick out bossa-nova cues in Morrissey's track which is on last year's World Peace In None Of Your Business. The original is from 1940. Still sounds great.

The Fall - Venice With The Girls
Another track from the new LP Sub-Lingual Tablet. An ever-changing line-up, but always the same.

Firestations - French Caves
I've had this on my list for ages. Never Closer came out the back end of last year and it's very good.

Frog - King Kong
From New York and off their second album, Kind Of Blah, which came out last week. Quirky, original.

Naturkunde Museum Ostkreuz - Zaragoza Variations
Here's something different. Off an EP that came out in March called Tropycalyptic Excursions.

Gerstaffelen - Invisible Ghosts
And in a similar vein, this from an EP called Night Flowing North And South.

One Degree of SeparationHalf Man Half Biscuit - A Shropshire LadWild Billy Chyldish and The Spartan Dreggs - A Shropshire Lad
Two totally unrelated tracks that share a title. From the Spartan Dreggs' 2012 album Coastel Command and from 1997's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Road.

Erosynilegt - Astar Bref
Couple of new ones to finish with. First, this from a Keflavik band that I'm certain I haven't pronounced properly. The name translates as Love Letters anyway. Off an EP of the same name.

Dementio13 - Barley Dance
And to finish, something from the relatively new album Vkhutemas vol 2 which is well worth your time seeking out.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Yeah Yeah Noh - Let's Start A War
The Leicester unpoppers reformed in 2012 and their first album since then is Automatically Saturday.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love
The title track from their new one which is out today.

Outfit - New Air
The difficult second album, says the cliche. Well this is great for starters from Outfit's second. Slowness is the title and it's out next month. There just isn't anything else that sounds like this.

Cover Version CornerDesmond Dekker & The Aces/Wild Billy Chyldish & CTMF - Israelites
It's hard to keep up with Billy Childish, in terms of volume of recording - he's a discography as long as your arm - collaborators - his latest is with the Spartan Dreggs - and spellings of Childish. This is off 2013's Die Hinterstoisser Traverse. Before that, from 1968, a UK number 1 and off the album Israelites. Well, one of two albums called Israelites.

Dommengang - Everybody's Boogie
Song of the week, intro of the year. The title track to their debut album which is out now.

Houndstooth - Bliss Boat
The lead track from the album No News From Home which came out in March.

Quailbones - Sunny Side Repulsion
From Kentucky and off a compilation from Sad Sack Records.

Stealing Sheep - Not Real
The title track - few of those this week - from their new album. Well, it's been out a while, but this is the new single.

Y CVn - La Superba
I'm not even trying to pronounce this. Either way, they're from Bristol and this is off Seducted which came out in December.

Tinariwen - Cler Achel
From Mali, a tip from a friend who, in discussing this year's Glastonbury festival, said they were the best thing he saw last year. This is from the 2007 album Aman Iman - Water Is Life to you.

One Degree of SeparationNervous Twitch - This Modern WorldLeo Brazil And His Twitch - I'm Free
Gloriously bonkers from Huddersfield's own Leo Brazil. That's off Born To Bow Down which came out last November. Before that, from Leeds and off Get Back In Line.

Moonlandingz - Psyche Ersatz
Another track from the Moonlandingz EP, a companion piece the Eccentronic Research Council's new album Johnny Rocket, Narcissist and Music Machine... I'm Your Biggest Fan. In it, Maxine Peake plays an obsessed fan of the lead singer of a band called Moonlandingz, and that band become real when the ERC and the Fat White Family - on whose label the album is released on - combine. Got that? Good.

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Thee Faction - Employment
Still annoyed with the election and work very much is a four-letter word. Off 2013's Good Politics.

The Novatones - Daddy Didn't Know
You know, sometimes I play tracks that at the time of putting the show together I'm not sure about. Now, I really can't see what I saw in this Jamie-bloody-T-doing-an-impression-of-The-fucking-Libertines effort. Learned my lesson though.

Happy Hollows - Astrid
That's more like it. Out on May 24.

Cover Version CornerThe Cure/8:58 - A Forest
A classic from 1980 and the album Seventeen Seconds. And then, from the album 8:58, Paul Hartnoll's version with vocal assistance from the Unthanks.

Suck Puppet - Happy Meal
Grunge-tastic from Connecticut.

Birdskulls - Good Enough
Good enough for me, that's for sure. These are from Brighton and that's on an LP called Trickle.

Wild Billy Childish And The Spartan Dreggs - Fen Raft Spider
Record of the week. Off the new album called Archaeopteryx Vs Coelacanth. Of course. Out now on Squoodge.

FFS - Johnny Delusional
When it was announced that Franz Ferdinand and Sparks were merging to form FFS and their debut single was called Piss Off, it was April 1. I assumed it was a joke then and I'm still not certain that it isn't. Anyway, the LP FFS is due on June 9 unless I am right and it's all a massive hoax. Which it still might be. FFS indeed. Good though, innit.

JD Meatyard - Waves
John Donaldson, erstwhile of Levellers Three and Calvin Party, is JD Meatyard. The new album is Taking The Asylum and it's very good indeed.

Kid Wave - Honey
Splendid. More where that came from on Wonderlust, out June 1.

One Degree of SeparationExtradition Order - Boy In UniformGang Of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform
Flipping love Gang Of Four. That's from 1982 and the LP Songs Of the Free. Before that, from Warrington and off the new album Kennedy. It's not biographical as such, but draws on the JFK era. They say it contains "the only disco anthem about Lyndon B Johnson seeking the Democratic nomination for the 1960 Presidential Election". Fair enough.

Summer Camp - Bad Love
The title track to their new LP out next week.

Saffron - Morning Levine
Not the former lead singer of Republica, rather a Canadian producer (damn you, internet). The new album is Petra II. Different from what Republica did with their hit.

The Cyclist - Heart Of Stone
And to finish, Derry's Andrew Morrison is The Cyclist and the EP Hothouse came out last month. And this is just superb.

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Still annoyed from last Thursday, but let's put those blues aside for an hour or so.

Those Unfortunates - I Wish That I Could Smile Like Malcolm
Formerly The Unfortunates, but it turned out there was someone else called that. A new single from them which is perky, punky pop. Out on June 13.

The Tormentos - Dragstrip Night
Surf guitar from Buenos Aires. It could be California in the '50s, but it's from 2003 off an album called Go!

Oscar - Beautiful Words
This should be big. Pop, but with enough about it to poke it's head above the mainstream. Oscar is Oscar Scheller from London and this is on an EP of the same name, out June 22.

Cover Version CornerOasis/The Baggios - Rock 'n' Roll Star
I promise not to play another Oasis record, but I love the Baggios version of this which is out on an album called Live Forever, celebrating 20 years since Definitely Maybe came out. The Baggios themselves have been going 10 years now and have a DVD out soon, but not being a Portuguese-speaker I think it might be lost on me.

The Fall - Dedication Not Medication
Their 31st studio album is Sub-Lingual Tablet. Out on May 25, ordering it helped take my mind off the election results.

Sweet Benfica - Lasso
This is yet another excellent track from the Welsh lo-fi-ers. Out now as a pay-what-you-like download from their Bandcamp page.

Dignan Porch - Out Of The Picture
New single from these out now on Art Is Hard. Splendid stuff from a reliable label.

Personal Best - This Is What We Look Like
Made up of members of three other bands, Bristol's Personal Best have their debut album Arnos Vale out now and this is from it. While we may have our right to be free from discrimination - for now at least, until they go Full Metal Tory - it still exists.

Cloud - Sunshine Psych
Perfect for summer, Long Island's Cloud have their album Zen Summer out now.

One Degree of SeparationPete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies - Don't Listen To The GovernmentManic Street Preachers - The Masses Against The Classes
No massive link apart from my extreme disappointment at the prospects of what a Tory majority might attempt to get away with.

Motion Studies - In Our Days
We're all missing LCD Soundsystem, but perhaps some of us more than others. Tyler McCauley is the main driver behind Motion Studies and there's a clear influence there. Hearts Will Beat is out now.

Blanck Mass - Dead Format
Benjamin John Power, half of Fuck Buttons, is Blanck Mass. Been a while since he released anything under that name, but Dumb Flesh is the new one.

Kolsch - Two Birds
And finally, German producer Rune Reilly Kolsch has this out as a new single. Available from the usual outlets.

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

The Vinyl Records - Whims
And we'll start in New Delhi and the title track from their January EP. Perky, quirky, excellent.

Brawlers - Windowmisser
The first of a number of tracks from Leeds bands this week. This is off their debut LP Romantic Errors Of Our Youth which came out last month on Alcopop! Records.

Thee Faction - Choose Your Enemy
And an even longer album title... Songs That Remind The Class Of The Glorious Victory To Come And The Work That Must Be Done To Get There. There's an election soon, y'know.

Cover Version CornerThe Wedding Present/Heathers - Dalliance
Back to Leeds and possibly my favourite Weddoes track, definitely off my favourite of their albums, Seamonsters from 1991. LA's Heathers put their version out on an EP called I Know (Part-Time Punk Session) in May last year.

Flies On You - Action Stations!
And yet another Leeds band... I finally got hold of their latest album Etcetera this week and it is excellent. Did I mention that election?

Crybabycry - Love Got Me Wrong
To Wakey now and one of my favourite bands du jour with a new track.

Serpent Power - Last Ape In Space
Ian Skelly, formerly of The Coral, and Paul Molloy of The Zutons with some contemporary San Francisco psych.

The Vaccines - Dream Lover
A couple of tracks that lean more to the commercial side now, but I'll be independent in my own choice of music thank you. Everything I know suggests I shouldn't like The Vaccines, but I do, so there. This is the second single taken from the album English Graffiti which comes out on the 25th.

The Maccabees - Marks To Prove It
A new single from a forthcoming and as yet unnamed album. Ploughing a unique furrow.

Nueva Costa - Glacé
And now for something completely different... This is lovely. It came out last September on an EP called Ave Del Paraiso. That's all I've got.

One Degree of SeparationPete & The Pirates - Blood Gets ThinTeleman - Not In Control
I've played Teleman quite a bit and here's another track from their acclaimed debut album Breakfast, possibly my favourite track off it. But while I've played Teleman often, I've not played the band that spawned them before. Three-quarters of Teleman are three of the Pirates from Pete & The Pirates. And that track is pretty much perfect.

The Smiling Disease - The Klingon Race
A debut album from Olly Moss, bassist from Evans The Death. But as well as a debut, it's also a collection of recordings from the last six years, hence the title Beach Bodies: 2008-2014.

(m+a) - Ninja ft Spank Rock
The m is Michele Ducci, the a is Alessandro Degli Agnoli and that track is ace. Off the EP Anyway Milkyway which came out last month.

Julian Cope - Double Vegetation
And finally, great news for gig-goers in the area, such as myself, as the second-best recording artist ever is playing Holmfirth in July. I've got my ticket already and I'm excited beyond belief. So here's a track from the 1991 album Peggy Suicide.

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Kassassin Street - Centre Straight Atom
Another one from these and off an EP of the same name, immediately familiar yet completely fresh. Really good stuff.

METZ - Spit You Out
Imagination in album titles isn't this lots strong point. Following on from METZ comes METZ II. It's out on May 6 and if this is anything to go by, should be splendid stuff.

Cheatahs - Murasaki
Something that's getting a lot of airplay, but no reason not to play it here. From an EP of the same name, inspired by Japanese novelist Murasaki Shikibu.

Cover Version CornerMcCarthy/Manic Street Preachers - Charles Windsor
Bit of a republican anthem as we await another royal leech. Off the flip-side of Life Becoming A Landslide, the Manics 1994 single, and before that and off their debut album I Am A Wallet, McCarthy, who burned all too briefly in the late '80s.

Bruising - Think About Death
To Leeds now and off Family Portrait Pt 2 which is out on May 11. I like these a lot.

Slug - Running To Get Past Your Heart
Another track from the wonderful Ripe. It's just so different and inventive. The album really is superb.

Babe - The Warbling
Off an EP called The Hereaftergo'ers which is out now-ish. Definitely wants to make me find out more.

Marsicans - Gone In A Second
Back to Leeds for another one that sounds familiar and yet also doesn't. It took me a few listens to really get into it, but now I think it's great.

The Bitter Springs - My Life As A Dog In A Pig Sty
Something from a few years ago now, 2010 in fact. Not a band I'd heard much of, but that's the beauty of twitter for you.

Rumble - Nvr Surrrender
Lacking in vowels, but making up for that in Gallic tones and a Nancy Sinatra sort of feel, these are from LA. EP1 - distinct lack of imagination again - came out in January.

One Degree of SeparationHalf Man Half Biscuit - The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)Fun Boy Three - Tunnel Of Love
Tunnels! And an excuse to play HMHB again, the best band in history. That's from the 2002 album Cammell Laird Social Club. After that, off their second and final album Waiting from 1982.

Suzy Condrad - Blood On The Bathroom Floor
Suzy Condrad plays with loops and it's quite a process to witness. I saw her at Hebden Trades Club supporting the Sleaford Mods - a band that could not be more opposite. This is on the LP She Of Little Faith which came out in 2013 and is well worth your time investigating.

De La Soul ft Nas - God It
Yes! A new LP, their first since 2004, is due and the crowdfunding project is still ongoing. As a taster/pour encourager les autres, they put this out. Get in. Cannot wait.

Squarepusher - Stor Eiglass
The new album, his 16th studio LP, Damogen Furies came out last week. As ever, it can be quite hard to penetrate, but this is an easier access point.

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Bad//Dreems - Cuffed And Collated
From Adelaide and about to make their debut in Britain, this is their new single. Sounds like it ought to remind me of something, but I don't know what.

Faith No More - Superhero
They are back. 18 years since their last album, Sol Invictus is the new one. Out on May 18, this is the second single taken from it.

Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best
This has been around a while now, but I think she's brilliant so you're getting it anyway. The album is the marvellously titled Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit.

Cover Version CornerThe Clash/The Sex Patels - Armagideon Time
An insight into my mind. A band doing bhangra versions of punk classics? Yes. And they're called the Sex Patels? Hell yes. And the album is called Never Mind the Bollywoods... Here's The Sex Patels? Shut up and take my money. The Clash version isn't the original - it is a cover of a Willi Williams track - but was the B side to London Calling.

Outfit - New Air
How to follow a critically acclaimed debut album? Well this isn't a bad start. The new one is out in June and is titled Slowness.

Slug - Cockeyed Rabbit Wrapped In Plastic
Best single title? Could be. Fronted by former Field Music bassist Ian Black, the album, Ripe, is inventive and interesting and really bloody good. Out now.

Sarah Cracknell - On The Swings
Pure heaven. She can do no wrong in my eyes. Her second solo album is due out soon. Red Kite.

Picturebox - Ruth Bakes A Cake
Quirky. This is on an album called The Garden Path which came out in February.

Garden Of Elks - Tomorrow We Are Astronauts
This is ace. They're Scottish and the LP A Distorted Sigh is out now.

The Sums - It's You
To Liverpool now and the new album here is Start At The Finish. They're Peter 'Digsy' Deary's latest outfit.

One Degree of SeparationHeaven 17 - TemptationNew Order - Temptation
Not a tough one today, but any excuse to play that New Order track. I'm fairly sure I don't even like the Heaven 17 one.

The Underground Youth - Morning Sun
This goes back a few years, to 2010 and the album Sadovaya. Still good though.

Moon Duo - Slow Down Low
A delight. Off the album Shadow Of The Sun which came out in February.

Super Besse - J'ai Rien A Foutre De Mon Visage
And finally to Belarus. I think these are ace. This came out in November, their last single to date. More please.

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

I had a distinct lack of voice last week, hence no show. And hence I'm doing it now.

Dave Hughes - Freedom Of Something
From the album Rise, Again which came out at the back end of last month. Something a little different.

Sweet Benfica - When The Prime Minister Talks To The Lords
A reworking of an old Bright Eyes track called When The President Talk To God. Get it off their bandcamp page.

Snapped Ankles - I Want My Minutes Back
The second single from this London outfit. Good, innit.

Cover Version CornerCornershop - Born Disco; Died Heavy Metal
Two versions of this, first from their debut album Hold On It Hurts from 1994. 20 years later, an instrumental, easy listening version of the same record.

Chastity Belt - Drone
A new one from these off the album Time To Go Home.

The Lucid Dream - Mona Lisa
Carlisle answer to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, that is umpteen kinds of splendid. The new self-titled album came out on March 30.

Therapy? - Tides
Another one off the new long-player Disquiet, which really is as good as the reviews say and is very much a back-to-basics return to form.

Du Blonde - Mind Is On My Mind
Featuring the vocals of Samuel T Herring of Future Islands, another one from the forthcoming album Welcome Back To Milk which I am very much looking forward to. That voice...

Love, Hippies and Gangsters - This Is What We Want
From the EP Sun Over Babaluma which came out in January. Psych heaven.

One Degree of SeparationRoxy Music - Do The StrandShacklock Meth Party - Pall Mall
Any excuse to play something by New Zealand psych-merchants Shacklock Meth Party. This is off Domino Room which came out in June 2013. And I could only think of one other track with a Monopoly square in the title, hence Roxy Music.

Goran Kajfes and Subtropic Arkestra - Dokuz Seki/ Esmerim
By now, you know I like to play stuff that's a bit different. Hence this. Off The Reason Why vol 2.

Emmy The Great - Swimming Pool (Tom Vek remix)
I played the original of this a while back, but here is a stunning remix from Tom Vek which takes it to different places.

8:58 - The Clock
Paul Hartnoll, ex of Orbital, brings his new project to being. Featuring the vocals of Cilian Murphy. Brilliant. Came out on March 30.